Protein upregulation is a molecular biology technique used for the production of large amounts of protein in a host organism. Proteins produced by upregulation may be used in a variety of products that improve human health and well-being. Often, proteins are chosen for upregulation based on properties that may provide for products with desired material characteristics or performance. Generally, proteins comprise at least one polypeptide chain. Polypeptides are amino acid chains, or sequences, linked by peptide bonds. The term protein may refer to a polypeptide chain after folding, interaction with other polypeptide chains, or the addition of other parts such as carbohydrates, lipids, or signal sequences, that make the protein a functional biological product of translation.
Spider silk is known to outperform many synthetic fibers in terms of material characteristics. Spider silk is made up of spider silk proteins that have unique mechanical properties, including strength, density, extensibility, toughness, and others.
Despite advances and existing systems for protein upregulation, attempts at upregulation for spider silk proteins have been hampered. One attempt at spider silk protein upregulation is described in Brooks et al., Properties of synthetic spider silk fibers based on Argiope aurantia MaSp2. Biomacromolecules 9:1506-1510 (2008), which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.